The 33 points put up by the Lions’ explosive no-huddle offense was not enough for a victory as Southeastern fell to Conference USA opponent Tulane in Saturday’s season opener 47-33. The Lions showed good signs early, responding to a Green Wave field goal by marching down the field with a steady ground game. They capped off their first drive of the game with a one-yard touchdown run by junior running back Zeke Jones giving the Lions a 7-3 lead with 10:15 left in the first quarter. Jones finished the day with 17 carries for 65-yards and two scores.
“I was proud of the guys. I thought we had some nice holes in the ground game,” said Lions head coach Mike Lucas.
On their next possession, the Green Wave attacked the Lions’ new and inexperienced secondary as quarterback Ryan Griffin completed a slant pass to wide receiver Van Hooser who took it for a 55-yard touchdown putting Tulane on top 10-7. Tulane came right back through the air as Griffin completed a pass to running back Orleans Darkwa, who carried the ball to the 38-yardline, eventually leading to a touchdown pass to linebacker/fullback Trent Mackey. This put the Green Wave over the Lions 17-7 with 2:15 left in the first quarter.
“We gave up way too many big plays,” said Lucas. “I said going in that we had some new faces back there and athletic kids, and we were going to see how they responded when the bombs and rockets go off and we got big- eyed. We didn’t play great back